


All That Matters

by feminaexlux



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Akumatized Chloé Bourgeois, Akumatized Viperion, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Before Miracle Queen, Dragon Noir, F/M, Identity Reveal, Ladynoir friendship, Lbscexchange, Multibug, Not Canon Compliant, Partial Mind Control, i think, lbscexchange2021, lukanette endgame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:20:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29267889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feminaexlux/pseuds/feminaexlux
Summary: What if Miracle Queen happened 6 months later in the dead of winter?
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 11
Kudos: 56
Collections: 2021 Exchange





	1. I Got Chills

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ChaoticNeutral](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticNeutral/gifts).



> Happy Valentine's Day!

“Ladybug?”

“Yeah, Chat?”

“I have a girlfriend.”

“Oh! That’s wonderful, congratulations!”

Chat Noir looked… confused, which was odd given the news that Ladybug just got. “I thought you’d be jealous,” Chat said eventually. Part of him sounded chagrined, but another part of him sounded a little relieved.

Ladybug tilted her head. “Why would I be jealous? I’m happy for you!”

“Thanks,” Chat said with a small smile. “It’s new for me, you know? I’ve never done this before. I feel like I’m going to mess something up.”

Ladybug laughed. “You’re a good guy, Chat. I think all relationships are going to be hard and there will always be ups and downs. But I think you’ll be fine if you work together on the problems.” Ladybug then had a concern. “You’re not dating her _as Chat_ are you?”

“Pfft, no, no my Lady, the _real_ me is doing that part,” Chat laughed.

“Okay, good. Remember you can’t reveal your identity to anyone.”

“I know, my Lady, I know.” Chat sighed. “I wish I could, sometimes. It sucks having to leave her without a good explanation, you know?”

Ladybug paused and considered. “Can I ask how you deal with that?”

“Luckily for me, my fath– uh, family has a pretty tight leash on this cat. I say that they need me and… she understands.” Chat leaned forward and pulled up his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. “She's… sad whenever that happens so I try to make it up to her.”

Ladybug laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “That’s good. It sounds like the sooner we can take down Hawkmoth, the better.”

Chat turned to her and nodded. “Yeah. Agreed.”

Ladybug took her hand off his shoulder and rested it back on the roof of the building they were on. They had done some patrols and met back up again to report nothing out of the ordinary. They sat together watching the sunset as they did on the good days.

It was partly cloudy and chilly in the early days of winter. The freezing cold hadn’t yet settled in but Ladybug knew it was coming in soon. She’d noticed in the previous winter that part of her felt sluggish and her body felt more lethargic in general, even in her powered up super suit. Tikki had said something about how ladybugs didn’t do well in winter, and maybe that was why? Okay, sure. Ladybug didn’t want to be any sort of liability to Chat or to the city of Paris when it got cold so she was able to convince Master Fu to lend out the other Miraculous on a semi-permanent basis.

Rena Rouge and Carapace were more than recurring heroes now. Ladybug had entrusted the Miraculous to Alya Cesaire and Nino Lahiffe after they promised to protect their identities, each other, the city of Paris, and to not misuse the Miraculous powers for personal gain. She’d done the same for Pegasus, Ryuuko, and Viperion. Ladybug didn’t know who King Monkey was so she had enlisted Fu’s help in tracking him down.

Queen Bee was… on an as-needed basis. Chloe Bourgeois was still an unknown. She had her moments of true selflessness but they’d been rare and unpredictable and that wasn’t an ally Ladybug or Chat Noir could trust. They tried explaining that to Chloe once, but it ended when the mayor’s daughter threw them out in a fit of tears. They still gave her another chance but the last time Queen Bee was used was with HeartHunter and Ryuuko had to bail them all out when Queen Bee stopped listening to them.

It wasn’t going well.

“How are you doing, ‘Bug?”

Ladybug snapped out of her thoughts and turned to face Chat. “I'm… okay. It’s starting to get cold.”

“Maybe you need to find yourself a boyfriend and get some warm snuggles,” Chat grinned. “What about that boy you love?”

Ladybug closed her eyes. “He’s found someone else,” Ladybug said softly. She had a small smile on her face, remembering how it felt to see Adrien and Kagami together. Kagami fit in to his life so seamlessly and Adrien looked happier than Marinette had ever seen.

“I'm… I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Ladybug sighed, looking back out at the sunset. “I think he’s happier now.” And now Marinette wasn’t feeling like the universe kept pushing back. It hurt a little bit to know nothing was going right with Adrien and there wasn’t anything she could do to change it. She finally made the decision to stop feeling hurt all the time and allowed herself to let him go. “And I think I’m happier too.”

“Okay,” Chat smiled, sighing in relief. “That’s great to hear. I’m sorry it didn’t work out but I’m glad that you’re happier. A happy Ladybug is always good news.”

“And a happy Chat Noir is always good news as well,” Ladybug giggled. “Thanks for letting me know.”

“Of course. You’re my best friend, Ladybug. I want to tell you everything, but…”

“You _shouldn’t_ tell me. It’s to _protect_ us,” Ladybug stressed. “But… you know you’re my best friend too.”

* * *

One good thing about no longer _obsessing_ over Adrien was that Marinette had less to worry about. The GirlSquad was no longer a pain in the proverbial butt about getting her to ask him out either. Instead Alya had fixed her sights on improving the LadyBlog and tracking down interviews with the other semi-permanent heroes, though (for obvious reasons) she had way more articles about Rena Rouge than any of the other Miraculous holders. It didn’t seem like it was for personal gain as Alya had styled the interviews as asking the heroes advice to inform all of her blog readers how to defend against or prepare for akumas, so Marinette decided she’d let that pass for the greater good.

The only thing that felt a little weird about the GirlSquad sometimes was that Juleka seemed like she kept wanting to talk with Marinette and then backing out at the last second. That probably meant Juleka still felt confused about Marinette dating her brother.

Marinette knew it looked kinda bad to date someone else soon(?) after giving up on Adrien, especially since Adrien started dating Kagami(!), but it just happened so… _naturally_. Marinette had been the one to keep visiting Luka at the Liberty. Luka had kept inviting her to watch movies with him. They’d just felt like having lunch together often. After months of not-dating Marinette had finally asked, flustered and tripping over her words, if they actually _were_. Or… If he had wanted to.

 _“If **you** want to, I’m game,”_ Luka had said casually, but Marinette had seen the faintest blush on him.

They had both been surprised when she said _“Yes.”_

Their relationship was nice and easy. They had taken it slow. Most of their “dates” were just hanging out, low key chilling around each other, listening to music or working on Lycée homework. He would lend an ear to whatever she wanted to talk about and offered his thoughts and commentary. She’d given him small gifts here and there. They’d gone out ice skating and met up with other friends a few times. She had been worried that she’d been a pretty boring girlfriend overall but he said _“If you wanna be here with me and I wanna be here with you, that’s all that matters.”_

Whenever she and Luka were together during an akuma attack Luka did have the penchant for staying with her for as long as possible. He did eventually give an excuse of having to check up on Juleka or his mom and left Marinette to run out as Viperion… and then she would transform into Ladybug and follow after him. If anyone caught on that Ladybug always came in _right after_ Viperion, the other heroes were smart enough to not comment on it. Nor comment on how they always left at the same time. Luka had, after sprinting back to her, breathlessly apologized the first few times for leaving her but Marinette had said it was so brave of him to look out for his family’s safety and that’d been enough. Marinette did have to admit to herself that dating another superhero was actually pretty convenient. Chat would _never_ let that go if he found out.

On the bad days it’d been so good to melt into his hugs when she felt the weight of the world press down harder on her. He’d been the calm in her life she so desperately wanted. It hit her like a ton of bricks just how much she needed him when he got taken from her.

* * *

Marinette and Luka were hanging out at Place des Vosges having coffee together after defeating yet another akuma. It had gotten much easier dealing with Hawkmoth with most of the other heroes helping out, and the fight was over in practically no time at all. Just when everything calmed down again she and Luka heard screaming nearby and saw people running away from… a swarm of wasps?

They got up and started running, but they were too slow and the wasps were catching up. “Aw crap,” Luka yelled. “Marinette watch out!” Luka pulled her into his arms and shielded her from them, getting stung in the process.

“Luka!” Marinette felt his arms drop from her shoulders and she looked up to see his face devoid of any emotion. His eyes turned a weird shade of yellow and he wasn’t responding to her shaking him. “Luka!” For one tiny moment he blinked and looked down at her with concern, then his face went slack again. “Oh no, what happened to you?” He turned away from her and started walking off. “H-hey! No! Don’t go!” She took his hand and tried to pull him into the bakery but he resisted and kept walking. Another swarm of wasps was closing in on her and Marinette cried out in frustration, letting Luka slip out of her grasp.

Wasps… _wasps_? Was this **Chloe?!** _Oh no,_ Marinette thought, turning on her heels to sprint toward the Seine. She transformed while diving in, making sure to use her aqua powerup. She plunged into the river and then looked back up to see the swarm hovering above the water and eventually disperse away. She pulled out her yoyo and slid the cover up, checking if any of the other Miraculous holders were active.

 _Oh no._ None of the other heroes were showing up on her communicator. At least not yet. _Oh no._ Ladybug let the communicator close and swam in circles, wondering just how she’d be able to handle this on her own if she had to. Suddenly she got a ping and Ladybug whipped out her yoyo, franticly checking which of her allies was nearby. Oh thank goodness Chat Noir was alright. Okay. She swam to meet him as he was heading in her direction and they met up halfway. “Chat! I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“Yeah, I’m definitely glad to see _you_ , 'Bug!”

“Th-this is… this is Queen Wasp again, isn’t it?” Ladybug fretted and pulled her hair in a mix of frustration and guilt. “I… I thought…”

“We beat her before and we can do it again,” Chat said, squeezing her shoulder with his hand. “And… and I have this, if we need it,” he said somewhat sheepishly, pulling out what looked like a necklace. It was a choker… a very familiar choker. One she had given to Kagami Tsurugi to keep for the time being. What was Chat doing with the Dragon Miraculous? “I… found this near… a girl after she got stung by one of the wasps.”

Ladybug blinked at the choker a few times. All she could think of was the dread she felt when the wasps were after her and Luka. What had Chat Noir gone through? And he had been conveniently nearby Kagami and the Dragon Miraculous and recognized it fast enough to grab it? “We might be able to use this.” Ladybug closed Chat’s hand over the choker. “You keep this for now, let’s make a plan. None of the other heroes show up as active on my locator yet–” As soon as she said it she got a series of pings on her yoyo that indicated that most of the other Miraculous holders were becoming active, all but Ryuuko, and all at the same time and location.

Even Viperion showed up on her locator… she _knew_ that Luka had been taken. Which could only mean…

“This is bad news.” Ladybug bit at her bottom lip. “I personally saw that… one of the holders got stung. This means they’ve captured everyone else with a Miraculous and we’re on our own. We’ll have to use the Dragon and get any edge we can.” Chat nodded at Ladybug and she sighed. “This is going to be tricky. We need to take Viperion out first.”

“How are we going to do that?”

Ladybug and Chat Noir looked at each other in silence for a bit. “We have to split up and you have to use the Dragon Miraculous. You can’t be caught by the wasps or Pegasus if you’re in Wind form and I don’t think it’s safe to do a frontal assault with Viperion working against us.”

“And what about you? What are you going to do?”

“I'm… going to use the Mouse. They can’t capture _all_ of me that way… hopefully.”

Chat looked pained. “This sounds dangerous, 'Bug.”

“Do you have another idea?” Chat shook his head. “Then let’s do this for now. We’ll have to play this by ear.” Ladybug called her Lucky Charm and got a scarf, now waterlogged with Seine water (ew). “A _scarf?_ What the heck am I supposed to do with a scarf?!”


	2. They’re Multiplyin’ and I’m Losing Control

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will get a touch surreal...

Ladybug convinced a newly transformed Dragon Noir to use Water form and launch himself into the sky. He’d be able to get a look at what was happening from a bird’s eye view and find Queen Wasp and the other Miraculous holders. Dragon Noir was hovering above Paris in a large water bubble at the peak of his arc when he contacted her. “Hey ‘Bug, she’s at the Trocadero, and… you’re right,” Dragon Noir sighed. “She’s got the other heroes all brainwashed and suited up. Except Ka–uh, the fencer girl is just… standing there.”

“Is she okay? M-Master Fu isn’t with them, is he?” Ladybug asked nervously.

“I think she’s fine, just… non-responsive. I don’t see him. Am I supposed to see him?” Dragon Noir asked, concerned.

“No! No.” Ladybug breathed out a sigh of relief. “Just… just that Queen Wasp doesn’t have access to _all_ of the Miraculous then,” Ladybug said. Okay. Master Fu was still safe, to a degree. Even though he wasn’t really the Guardian anymore.

“Master Fu” was, in fact, not even a real _person_ anymore.

There had been one too many close calls with Master Fu being nearly discovered by Mayura and Hawkmoth, and with Marinette being as hyper-competent as she was, Fu made the decision to retire earlier in the late summer. After all, the Order had been restored and he was no longer the last of his kind. Marinette had proven herself worthy of Guardianship time and time again. He was just too old, too weak, too slow to react and adapt.

Fu had handed over the Miracle Box to Ladybug at the end of summer. His penultimate act as Guardian was to tell her who King Monkey was after handing out the Monkey Miraculous to Kim. Ladybug became the new Guardian of the Miraculous in secret, and the person that was “Master Fu, Guardian of the Miraculous” was no more after he lost all of his memories.

There was one final “gift” that Master Fu had left Ladybug before his memories were erased. Fu had given her his blessing to use him as a decoy. Better to have Hawkmoth track down and find a dead end in a broken old man than wreak more havoc with more Miraculous under his command.

The knowledge of whoever Chat Noir was underneath the mask got lost along with Fu’s memories. But that was fine to Ladybug. Chat Noir was simply her partner, and that was enough.

Though losing Master Fu as her mentor and confidante had been such a huge blow to Marinette. She had spent a week crying in secret until Luka had surprised her one day, visiting her in her room. _“Thought I’d join you here if that’s alright,”_ Luka had said, and Marinette let him stay with her. He’d just smiled and held out his hands to her. He hadn’t even asked what was wrong. He was just present, letting her cry in his arms until she couldn’t anymore. _“If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know.”_

It had been a good long time until she was able to speak again. _“You’re already helping me,”_ Marinette had said quietly, pressing herself into the hug. _“This is all that I need.”_

Ladybug shook her head to get back to the present. She stuck her head out of the water and took a quick scan of her surroundings, making sure she wasn’t spotted by anything. She got out of the river, drying out the Lucky Charm scarf as best she could. “Tikki, Mullo, Unify!” This was another Big Secret Marinette kept to herself: that she’d been keeping Mullo’s Miraculous on her. It had changed a bit recently, now representing itself as a necklace with a pendant shaped like a guitar pick that she hid under her shirt. Marinette was paranoid enough that she couldn’t let anyone see her wear the necklace. Multimouse had detransformed in front of Chat Noir, after all.

Sometimes she transformed into Multimouse without any akumas to deal with - breaking her own rule of not using the Miraculous for personal reasons - to be as small as she felt sometimes and hide away from the world. She and Tikki had a lot of heart to heart conversations tucked into a hatbox in one corner of her room.

This time, she was using it to just be stealthy. She used Multitude to split into several smaller versions of herself, fanning across a large area and running down different streets and alleyways toward the Trocadero.

“She’s calling herself Miracle Queen,” Dragon Noir mused. “The… the others are surrounding her to defend her. I’d say we’re in quite a pickle, my Lady.”

Multibug didn’t stop running. “How do you feel about trying to draw the honor guard away?” one of her asked.

Dragon Noir snorted. “On it. Easy as pie.” Over the comms Ladybug heard her partner shout “Hey there demons, it’s me, ya boi Chat Noir! I’m standing right here. You brain-dead zombies want my miraculous? Come and get it!”

…

_Okay…_

One of the Multibugs pulled out her yoyo and took a look at the screen. Dragon Noir’s spot on her map kept jumping around, pulling the group of the other heroes away as they all chased after him. Pegasus was using Voyage to keep trying to intercept but Dragon Noir bounced off in a different direction as fast as lightning. She had to give props to Chat, he sure knew how to play that cat-and-mouse game well.

But Dragon Noir wouldn’t be able to keep this up forever if Viperion was working against them. She needed to take down Viperion and this Miracle Queen, and she needed to do that as soon as possible. She kept moving forward, scurrying across as fast as she could to get to cover or hide behind or underneath things, trying to close in and surround Miracle Queen from as many angles as she could get at the Trocadero.

One of her got close, _so close_. Miracle Queen was standing in front of a line of golden statues, and a Multibug was hiding behind one of the statue plinths when she got grabbed from behind. “Aahhh!” she squeaked out loud.

“Not ssso fassst, little moussse,” Viperion said as he turned her toward his face, stressing his _s_ ’s in what was probably a mockery of Sass. “You’ll never get the drop on me, can’t you see?” He turned toward Miracle Queen and bowed to her with Multibug firmly in his grip. “I’ve found a pest, My Queen.”

Multibug held back another squeak. “Lu–Viperion! Viperion, don’t do this, don’t listen to her! Don’t let her control you!” She had been so sure that Dragon Noir had led them _all_ away, how did Viperion surprise her?! She realized he must have used Second Chance and timed it so he knew just when to turn back and stop her. The other heroes must have coordinated to trick Dragon Noir!

Miracle Queen turned her head lazily, examining her nails with a sour look after giving a quick glance at Viperion presenting her the Multibug in his left hand. “Ridiculous, utterly _ridiculous._ A rat? That’s the best you could do, Ladybug?” Miracle Queen leaned in and looked closer at Multibug. “Hmm. Although you do have your Miraculous, but they’re so tiny. I don’t know how much more _useless_ you could possibly be, but…” A wasp manifested above the Queen’s hand, hovering and ready to strike.

There was a lightning fast _zzzip_ and a yoyo snatched up the wasp from right in front of Miracle Queen before she realized what happened. Miracle Queen cried out, looking up only to have a pair of Multibugs drop down from above and wrap the scarf tight around her face, blocking her vision entirely. “What the– _Aaaah_!” Miracle Queen screamed as she stumbled backward.

Viperion started reaching for his bracelet but the Multibug in his hand reached out as fast as she could and held back the serpent’s head to prevent the reset. The two Multibugs that dropped merged together, and another larger Multibug emerged from the shadows. The 2 larger Multibugs lassoed Viperion’s left and right wrists with their jump ropes and pulled away from each other, forcing Viperion’s arms apart. They coordinated and pulled their ropes backward, unbalancing Viperion and dragging him off his feet to slam his back up against a statue plinth, knocking the breath out of him. This allowed the Multibug in his hand to wriggle free and pull off his bracelet as he struggled against his bindings.

Miracle Queen pulled off the scarf and threw it on the ground just as a detransformed Luka fell to his knees, the jump ropes untying smoothly from his wrists as the Multibugs pulled away and sprinted off in different directions. “DISGUSTING! Ugh!” She stomped toward Luka and grabbed the collar of his shirt and forced him to look up at her. “You’re so _useless_!”

“Hey! Leave him alone!”

Miracle Queen looked to her side, where a fully sized Multibug was glaring at her. “What, this piece of trash?” Miracle Queen mocked, picking a struggling Luka up by the throat until he was hanging a few inches off the ground. “He belongs with the rest of the filthy garbage!” She threw him at Multibug.

“Luka! No!” Multibug rushed in to catch him and they collided, sending them both tumbling to the ground. She sat up with Luka cradled in her arms, he was still dazed from the impact and mind control but it seemed like he was slowly recovering. Her face was set in rage when she looked up at Miracle Queen. “How could you?!”

Instead of responding Miracle Queen summoned a new swarm of wasps. Miracle Queen commanded her wasps to “Get her!” just as Multibug’s earrings beeped, starting the countdown to her powers running out.

Multibug growled, trying to decide between letting Luka down to deal with the threat or getting them both out of there as fast as possible. She made her decision, throwing out her yoyo and hooking it onto a railing, pulling her and Luka away from the Trocadero as fast as she could manage trying to outpace the wasps. But even after a few swings the wasps were still pursuing and inching in closer, much too close for comfort. Multibug wasn’t sure where she could go that would be safe so she gritted her teeth and dove both her and Luka into the Seine.

* * *

Luka’s head was swimming in black and white static. It felt like he was floating in a sea of quicksand, getting swallowed up and drowning in grainy noise. He couldn’t have any thoughts of his own last longer than a second, they’d all been drowned out by this stupid buzzing. He must have gone crazy.

“–bzzzkrrzzzzkstshshhbzzzshzzz **Luka!** bzzzsrrkzstzz–” Wait, that was… that sounded like– “–rrrbkzzzzshshkstbzzzssskchssshbr **Luka!** rssshkzzzbzkrrrrbzzz–” _Marinette!_ For one split second he saw her. She’d been panicked, looking up at him with worry. He hated that he made her feel this way.

He felt his legs being forced to move. Something was tugging at his hand, something warm, something small, but the sensation of it kept slipping away unless he fought hard to concentrate on it. Then it let go, letting him fully sink back into the static. He could sense that he’d been walking for some time, and then he stopped. There was this… grating noise on top of the static that must have been someone’s voice tell him something… something about… the Miraculous?

Hissing sounds started overlying the buzzing in the background. He felt something tightly coil at his wrist, and when he could stop and focus against the pressure wave of sound that pressed into him from all sides, he noticed that a lot of that hissing came from… that coil? It was shapeless, the definition of its boundaries lost in the black and white grainy spots that covered his vision.

He felt that thing that was hissing bite into his wrist, and man, _ouch_ , what the heck was that– He started seeing distinct outlines and colors, forms and shapes, could hear _silence_ beyond the buzzing… He could faintly see Sass? That little guy was sinking his fangs into Luka’s wrist… He almost got back in control of his senses with the pain from Sass’ bite when it felt like his head got yanked back by an invisible hand and it slammed his head forward into the static, sending him back into confusion.

Wait, could he… he couldn’t tell if he was breathing, but he could still feel his heartbeat. He needed to focus on that, maybe try to feel the pattern, feel the pulse, meditate on that constant rhythm like a metronome. Could he break free from the static with that?

Sass bit him again. Luka was hoping it was the kwami trying to help more than hurt Luka. He trusted Sass, didn’t he? Yeah. Yeah, why did he question that? There was a blinding flash that forced Luka to blink and he forgot about both his meditation and Sass trying to get his attention. What might have been an eternity or a few seconds later, there was another flash, but Luka tried to keep his eyes open. He could swear he saw Sass more clearly in that flash, but what did that mean?

There was another flash. Followed by two more. He’d grabbed something in his left hand. _Mouse,_ he suddenly thought. “–zzzzzzbzzzzhssssssssshshshchtchssszzzz **Viperion!** brrsssszzzzzrrzzz–” Viperion? Was that who he was? Were the blinding flashes his use of Second Chance? Wait… who was calling him? He had the faintest impression of red, or pink maybe, or blue– _Marinette’s_ eyes were staring back up in fear, in pleading – why couldn’t he help her? He wanted to make her happy but he’d just been so–

_“You’re so useless!”_

Yeah. He knew that.

The static noise abruptly stopped and he was looking up at yellow and black, the masked face of Miracle Queen. Her magenta eyes were narrowed and mocking and full of derision. She lifted him by the throat and he was struggling against her, but then he got flung aside. Marinette’s voice cut through the lingering thick fog in his mind. “Luka! _No!_ ” He landed on something softer than the concrete ground. “How could you?!” Marinette yelled at Miracle Queen, sounding the most angry he’d ever heard her.

Wait, this wasn’t Marinette… was it? Luka had tried to get a better look at the girl who was holding him up but then she sent them both soaring through the sky, pulled along by her… magic yoyo. Ladybug? She didn’t _look_ like Ladybug… or no he saw some red and black along with the pink and gray of the rest of her suit.

His face was right next to hers. He heard the beeping of her earrings get faster. He also heard Chat Noir’s voice coming through Ladybug(?)’s earrings. “Sorry 'Bug, I’m out – I gotta recharge!”

“Me too!” Ladybug replied, yelling over the wind. “Sorry Luka, we’re going in,” she said more quietly, pulling him in closer and cradling his head against her chest. Then they both plunged into the Seine.


	3. The Power You're Supplying is Electrifying!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To clarify as I made it vague, this MQ happens several months after LB learns CN is dating someone. Also prepare for some angsty feels. Nowhere near the level of damage that Ver’s is tho *cough*

Instinct almost overwhelmed Luka and he had fought against Marinette – no, Ladybug? – to bring them back up to the water’s surface and get out of the water. He’d been trained to immediately get out of the water since his Ma tossed him overboard when he was a wee little bairn at the tender age of 6, just a few hours after the family settled in after moving onto the Liberty. Anarka’s little wildlings had to know how to swim to safety, and apparently it’d been a “family tradition” of the Couffaine’s to learn and teach how to swim the hard way.

Juleka had been laughing at him after he made it back to the Liberty soaking wet and he had been _so angry_ that he wanted her to go through the same humiliation he just went through, but like a _million times_ worse. He’d never forget that terrified scream of a 4 year old Juleka when she was picked up and tossed, that splash of a body hitting water, that panicked involuntary gasping of hers when she surfaced. It had scared him to death to think that he’d caused that to happen and Anarka had to hold him back from diving in after his sister. _“The lass needs to save herself!”_

When Juleka had come back up to the Liberty she had a huge grin and asked her mom to _"do it again!!_ "

Ladybug held onto him and pressed her opened yoyo to his mouth. Somehow it passed clean air into his lungs and after his flailing subsided he could hear her voice as clear as if they’d been above water. “I’m sorry, Luka. We have to stay underneath for a while, until the wasps go away.” He could also hear the beeping of her earrings. The wasps or her transformation, which would go first?

He took her hand and swam them toward a drainage pipe. They could probably buy some time if they made it inside the sewers. He could probably find a place for them to hide, for Ladybug to recharge and get ready again to deal with the akuma. He could hear the earrings beep even faster and he swam harder, trying to get _somewhere_ so he wouldn’t have to see Ladybug detransform. Anarka’s voice rang through his mind – _“The lass needs to save herself!”_ – but it seemed like Ladybug was… tired? Or at least, it didn’t feel like she’d been resisting him much. He _knew_ LB would be able to take care of herself if she wanted to.

But she’d been holding onto him as much as he’d been holding onto her.

All of a sudden, even after swimming as hard as they could, the timer ran out and the yoyo vanished along with her transformation. He shut his eyes tight and surfaced first but pulled the girl behind him up, getting his hands underneath her arms to haul her above water. “Sorry, I’m sorry,” he said after they both stopped coughing and caught their breaths, holding onto one another as they treaded water. “I didn’t see anything, I’ve got my eyes closed. You should get out of here,” he said. “Can you swim?”

“Yes, I can,” she said. “But I… I can’t just leave you here!”

“Yeah, you can,” he said solemnly. “I’m fine here, LB, you need to get going don’t you?” He heard her sigh over their treading water.

“It’s… it’s freezing in here, _neither_ of us can stay. We need to find someplace to get dry first.” He felt her take his hand and swim in a particular direction so he followed along, trying to not hold her back. “There’s a ledge here, and a ladder to the surface. We could…” she stopped talking suddenly. “Are you seriously keeping your eyes closed?” she asked, a little amused.

“Yeah?”

She breathed out a sigh. “Thank you, Luka.” A few moments later it sounded like she pulled herself out of the water, then she grabbed his hand again and set it on the ledge. “H-here, you’ve got it. You n-need t-to g-get out of h-here t-t-too.” It sounded like she was shivering pretty hard and he almost got up to… what, hug her?

“I will. After you go.” He scrambled up onto the ledge and opened his eyes a few minutes after he heard her leave. He took off his jacket and shoes and socks, wringing out as much of the water as he could from his clothes and his hair. Ladybug had been right. It _was_ freezing – it was the middle of winter – and he could feel his own shivering getting worse as the minutes went on.

He put his jacket and socks and shoes back on when they were less waterlogged and brought his knees to his chest to conserve heat, thinking he could hold out a little while in here. He no longer had the bracelet… he couldn’t transform and help Ladybug out, and with the swarms of wasps able to go nearly anywhere he wasn’t sure he could head back up to the surface. Eventually Ladybug would take down this… Miracle Queen? And then everything would be fine. He’d be back in Place des Vosges drinking his warm coffee with – _Marinette,_ he needed to find Marinette!

He got to his feet and turned to find the ladder. He stopped caring about the wasps, he needed to get out of here to – _Marinette’s eyes had looked back up at him after he captured her, so tiny in his hand, she’d been so scared and it was **his fault**_ – find her…

Find her… and be as useless as he ever was.

Crap.

What could _he_ do? He was… he was just a nobody at this point.

“Luka?” A high-pitched voice called out to him nearby, startling him, and he spun around to face it. It wasn’t Ladybug’s voice, that was certain, but he couldn’t see who said it. “Luka, I’m here,” it said again, and he finally tracked it to…

“You’re Ladybug’s kwami,” he said quietly, gently picking up the sickly looking red bug thing that had been on the ground. “Are you alright? Is _she_ alright?”

“We’re not… doing okay,” it sighed, shivering badly. “Please, you have to help her. It’s so cold!”

“But… I–” he was going to say that he shouldn’t know who Ladybug was, but if her kwami was here and needed his help it was bad news. “Where is she?” He brought the kwami up close to his chest, trying to get it warm. It raised an arm and pointed up so he went up the ladder, stuffing the kwami into his jacket’s front pocket. He lifted the sewer lid just barely and looked around in all directions, making sure there weren’t any wasps nearby. He got out quickly and he ran the way the kwami was telling him to, following a zigzag path Ladybug had gone down. _No,_ he thought. _No, no, oh no, it’s…_ “Marinette?” She was in a tiny ball laying on her side in an alleyway, shivering uncontrollably. She looked so pale, he needed to _do something._ He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her. “Hey,” he said, gently pulling her up to sitting. “It’s me.”

“L-Luka?” Her voice was so tiny and quiet he could barely hear her. “I’m… I’m so c-c-cold,” she kept shivering. He started rubbing her arms hard, trying to get her warm. “C-c-can’t… move…”

Crap they needed to get out of there and get warm fast. He looked around for a place to hide inside. There was a startling moment where he had realized that for some reason she’d been running toward the Liberty. She might not have intended to run in that direction, but it was convenient that it was so close. He picked her up in his arms, keeping her close to him, and ran as fast as he could. He saw his mom just… standing there out in the open, eyes yellow and face expressionless, but he couldn’t do anything for her without Ladybug. “Sorry, ma,” he whispered under his panting breath. He ran down to the main cabin, seeing his sister sitting still at the kitchen counter bar stool, her hands dropped lifelessly to her sides. This whole mess with Miracle Queen was so creepy.

He got to his room and sat Marinette down on his bed, taking his jacket off of her and realizing she still had on her sodden one. “I have to get this off you, you’re going to keep freezing if you keep it on,” he tried to tell her, unsure if she heard. She’d been close to passing out. But she nodded and didn’t resist when he pulled it off. He went to the bathroom and grabbed all of the towels, wrapping it around Marinette and her kwami, trying to pat them dry. Marinette started becoming unsteady and leaned forward. “Hey, hey, Marinette, can you keep yourself awake?”

“It’s so hard to…” she grumbled. “So tired,” she mumbled.

He took the towels off and wrapped her up in his blanket. “Alright, I… I don’t know how long we–you have until Miracle Queen decides to send out more swarms but, you can rest here. And, uh, Ladybug kwami, what do you eat?”

“My name is Tikki,” the kwami said, smiling gently up at him. “Cookies, if you have them please.”

“I think so. I’ll be right back.”

“Luka, wait… here,” Marinette said, her hand shuffling under the blanket. She reached her hand out and placed a bracelet in Luka’s palm. “I was going to leave it for you in your desk,” Marinette smiled uneasily. Well, that explained why she was heading here in the first place.

_“You’re so useless!”_ Miracle Queen’s voice rang through his head again.

“… alright,” he said reluctantly. He put the bracelet back on and Sass reappeared in a glowing ball of light. “Hey little guy,” Luka smiled.

Sass looked around him, seeing Tikki and a clearly untransformed Marinette sitting on Luka’s bed. “Looksss like the sssecret’sss out,” Sass sighed. “We mussst never ssspeak of thisss,” Sass said gravely to Luka.

“I won’t,” Luka promised solemnly. Sass nodded, following Luka out to the kitchen. Juleka’s yellow eyes were still opened so Luka brushed his hand down his sister’s face and closed her eyes, then cleared the counter space in front of her and set her head down on the counter gently. At least this way she looked like she was sleeping instead of being paralyzed by an akuma. Luka opened up the cabinets looking for cookies and found a box of store bought ones. He took out the whole package, then opened up the fridge to get an egg for Sass.

“I hope you will not hold it againssst me that I did not tell you,” Sass said, sounding a little worried, grasping the egg in his paws.

Luka looked down at the floor for a moment and shrugged, looking back up at Sass. “Wasn’t your place to, I know. I don’t blame you at all, Sass.” He laughed a little. “Makes sense why she never got angry when I had to go.” He started walking back toward his room.

“Yet you ssstill look sssaddened,” Sass continued. “Perhapsss you are not feeling well?”

Luka stopped in place. “There’s a lot that I’m not.”

Sass flew in front of him. “There is a lot that you _are._ You have been chosen to be a hero. You _are_ a hero.”

Luka had a thin smile. “I wasn’t the first choice, don’t you remember?” Knowing that Ladybug was really Marinette was… difficult. He had suspected it and deep down it felt like the truth, but seeing that Marinette actually _was_ Ladybug… was difficult. Marinette had chosen Adrien first. She had pretty much always chosen Adrien first. Luka wasn’t her first choice for anything, and he knew it. Her first choice just hadn’t chosen _her_.

“You are the _right_ one,” Sass emphasized.

Luka just kept smiling. _I’m just **a** choice for now,_ he thought. _Whenever Adrien realizes who he really wants, then I won’t be._ He walked back into his room and Sass followed behind. “Here, Tikki. They’re probably not as good as the ones you’re used to, I hope that’s okay.” He noticed that Marinette had laid down, and it looked like she had fallen asleep.

“Thank you,” Tikki said, taking out a few cookies after he opened the package and set it on his desk. “These are just fine!”

_Just fine,_ he thought to himself. His brain made a connection and he realized _he_ was the store-bought variety. Convenient. Not as good. Disposable. He sighed to himself and sat down. He jumped a little when he felt Marinette put her hand on his. “Thought you were asleep,” he chuckled softly.

“Still cold,” she mumbled.

“I’ll get some more–”

“No, no, I just… I just want to be… next to you.” She blushed a little. “Could you lay down here too?” He smiled a bit more genuinely, laying down next to her. He pulled her into a hug, blankets and all. “Mmm, warm,” he heard her whisper to herself. If only they could stay like this for a long while. Just her and him in a quiet world. But maybe without the akuma.

“Marinette, I’m ready,” Tikki said, floating over the teens. “Are you alright?” It’d been just a few minutes. Luka was keenly aware of time when he had the bracelet on. Having the bracelet on also made the cold seep in deeper, almost to the bone. Marinette must have felt that too as Ladybug.

Marinette reached out a hand from under the blanket and held onto Luka’s shoulder, snuggling closer. “You… _we_ have to go,” Luka said gently.

“I know,” she said softly. “But I want to stay here with you.” His heart ached a little hearing that. She sighed. “You’re right. Alright. Okay. Let’s go.”

A few minutes later Ladybug and Viperion were on the uppermost deck of the Liberty surveying their surroundings. Ladybug had a few messages waiting from Chat that said he was ready to get back in the game. “Hey Chat? I’m here now. I was able to get Viperion back to normal,” Ladybug told her partner.

“Holy cats I’m so glad to hear from you,” Chat said over their communicators, relief clearly evident in his voice. “What happened? Viperion’s back?”

“Kinda long story, and yes. Anyway I think I have a plan. It’ll be a lot smoother now that Viperion is here with us!”

* * *

The trio met up near the Trocadero. The Plan was to incapacitate the other heroes first, making sure the other Miraculous users weren’t going to keep being manipulated by Miracle Queen. Ever since Miracle Queen lost Viperion she had her honor guard of the other heroes stay closer near her, guarding her from every angle. It seemed like Hawkmoth had been yelling at her to _do something_ with the one-sided conversation Chat had eavesdropped on, but MQ seemed just fine lounging around and waiting for her enemies to come to _her._

Well, she’d get what she wanted this time.

Their first target was King Monkey since his powers made things unpredictable. Viperion set his Second Chance and Ladybug called her Lucky Charm, a red and black polka dotted flashlight falling into her hands. “A flashlight?” She pointed it at the ground and an almost overpowering high-powered light beamed out. Good thing it was already gray and cloudy. “Ah,” she smiled. “Hey Chat, would you like to take the spotlight?”

Chat Noir laughed out loud. “Always, milady.” The three nodded at each other and Chat leapt off the rooftop. Viperion also left and circled around close to Miracle Queen, hiding behind the columns and waiting for an opportunity.

“HEY! I’m back,” Chat announced to their enemies after landing in front of them. Miracle Queen’s guards immediately started attacking.

Ladybug threw out her yoyo to lasso and tie up Pegasus’ arms and yanked him out of the fight toward her. Chat batted away an attack from Carapace while also dodging a wasp swarm Miracle Queen had thrown at him. Chat Noir peeled off Carapace’s shield and used it to block the Uproar banana that King Monkey had thrown. Viperion came out of nowhere and struck King Monkey from behind, tearing off the metal headband from his head.

Kim landed on his knees and Viperion vanished again.

Pegasus got loose and kicked Ladybug in her stomach, then opened a Voyage portal to _the freaking sun_ underneath her. She threw out her yoyo and it grabbed Pegasus’ arm, pulling him through the portal as well. They struggled in space but she was able to pull him into a headlock, taking off the Miraculous glasses and putting it on herself. She called Voyage again after unifying Kaalki with Tikki, she and a limp Max dropped through another portal back down to the Trocadero.

Rena Rouge made several copies of herself with Mirage then fled, trying to disorient everyone around her. One Rena attacked Chat from behind while he was still struggling with Carapace, and then that Rena swapped with another Rena to attack again. Putting Max down safely, Ladybug (Lady Pegasus?) pulled out her flashlight and switched it on, sweeping the intense beam across all of the Renas. Only one flinched and Viperion appeared again, grabbing the real Rena’s necklace from her, and a detransformed Alya fell backward and landed on her butt. Chat landed Carapace on his back and pulled off the Turtle Miraculous, sighing in relief as a now Miracu-less Nino went limp.

Everyone was caught by surprise when Kagami grabbed Chat Noir’s arm and pulled off _his_ Miraculous.

Time nearly froze and everyone stopped in place, stunned. Viperion was shocked to find an Adrien Agreste looking panicked as Kagami pulled back his arm behind him, forcing him to his knees. Miracle Queen, Lady Pegasus, and Viperion all stared in horror. “Hey, Viperion,” Adrien chuckled nervously. “Could you…”

Viperion pulled back the serpent-head on his bracelet and reset the timeline.

The second time Viperion was pulling off Rena’s necklace he spun around and ran at Kagami, kicking away her bokken as she tried to hit him with it. Kagami reached for his bracelet but he tripped her, sending her sprawling to the ground.

“Kaalki, Tikki, Divide!” Lady Pegasus called out. Viperion had an errant thought that she looked kind of cute with glasses. The three heroes grouped together as Chat Noir unified with Longg, letting Dragon Noir envelop them in a water bubble as swarms of wasps surrounded them. They walked toward Miracle Queen, who had her akumatized venom ready. “It’s over, Chloe,” Ladybug said confidently. “We’re done here.”

* * *

_Of course_ Chat Noir had to be Adrien Agreste.

Of course Adrien Agreste was Chat Noir. He’d been the one chosen for her. He’d been the one that _made sense._ They were made for each other.

The three heroes fist bumped their _Bien Joué!_ and Ladybug and Chat Noir took off in different directions, with Ladybug carrying all of the recovered Miraculous jewelry, including the Dragon Miraculous Chat Noir handed back. Viperion followed after her, taking a relatively circuitous path to give himself time to think. He was going to meet up with Marinette again, but…

Nothing seemed right. No, _he_ was the one that wasn’t right.

It was well known that Chat Noir loved Ladybug. It was well known that Marinette loved Adrien. The wires were crossed, but now that Viperion knew, he _knew,_ he was the only one that could _make it_ right.

Viperion saw that Ladybug was diving toward her bedroom. He swallowed a lump in his throat and went toward the bakery, leaping up to a nearby building and looking around to make sure no one else was nearby. He dropped onto Marinette’s balcony. “Hey, Marinette?”

“Oh! Come down?” Viperion sighed, but dropped down into her room, going down the ladder from her bed. She smiled at him, warm and sunny and genuine. “Y-you know I thought it’d be _so bad_ if someone found out who I was under the mask, but for some reason I think this is really, really nice. It’s so conven–”

“Marinette, I think we need to break up.”

Marinette paled immediately and reeled back in shock. “Wh-what–”

He just let his words spill out. “I can’t say much but what I will say is that you’re better off without me. There’s been someone else who’s been… always nearby that seems like he’s… better. For you. Trust me, I’m only in your way.” Viperion called off his transformation and pulled off the bracelet, handing it back to Marinette. “Sorry. This is for the best, I swear. I promise I won’t tell anyone about you.”

“Hey! Luka, stop, _stop!_ ” Marinette tried reaching for his hand but he pulled back.

“It’d be easier if I just left,” Luka said apologetically. “I’m sorry.”

_“Apologize for being a dummy you-you **stupid jerk!!!** ”_ she yelled, throwing the bracelet at his head.

She’d thrown it pretty hard, putting all her weight behind it, and it glanced off Luka’s forehead. “Ow!” He put a hand to his forehead while Marinette gasped and brought her hands to her mouth.

“Oh gosh I’m so, so, so sorr–nnng NO I’m not sorry what are you even _saying,_ Luka Llewellyn Couffaine!” She stamped her foot. “Not even giving me a chance to talk?!”

His forehead stung a lot and he actually teared up a little due to the pain. “Ow,” he repeated lamely.

She rushed forward and pulled his hand away, looking at the injury. “Oh gosh, I really am sorry. I’m so sorry,” she muttered nervously, then she pulled away and went through her first aid kit. She had to have one nearby for all of the times she stabbed herself with needles. She pulled out an instant cold pack and pressed it gently to his forehead. “I… I guess you really should break up with me for that,” she sighed.

Luka just started laughing. “Juleka’s done worse,” he said between breaths. “But yeah I’d appreciate it if you didn’t do that again.” He pulled back and took the cold pack from her and held it against his forehead. Having her near was… not helping him leave.

Marinette nodded, dutifully chastised. “I won’t. But can… can you just… tell me why, Luka?” Marinette asked. Her voice was wavering and he hated it. But it needed to happen.

“I’m… store-bought cookies.” Marinette looked absolutely bewildered by the comment. “Convenient. Temporary? Kinda just… getting you through until you find something better.”

Marinette blinked at him. “What?”

“You have… someone else better nearby. And he just needs some time or something. But he’ll realize who you are and… I think you’ll be a lot happier with him.”

Marinette just stared at him. After a few moments she heaved a sigh and ran a hand down her face in frustration. “Are you saying I’m not happy _now?_ Well okay not _right_ now because you’re being a big stupid dummy but you know what I mean.”

“You… could be happier?” Luka ventured.

“For goodness’ sake, are you just telling me I’m crud at being a girlfriend? Look, I know and I want to–”

“That’s not what I’m saying. I just… you deserve better, I really believe that.”

“I _got_ better, I had _you!_ ”

Luka sighed himself. “I’m not–”

“ _Listening to me,_ yeah I know.” Marinette interrupted and started pacing. “Do you really think I’m just going to allow yourself to think that I’m not happy when I am?! The past few months have been _so nice_ and I _want_ to be with you even if we’re not doing anything more than hanging out or watching movies or listening to music and now that you know that I’m Ladybug I just felt so _relieved_ because finally someone I can trust with everything and it was _you_ and it’s wonderful because we can do _everything together_ and I _want_ that because _I love you!_ ”

They both were surprised at what she said and she flushed red, stopping in place. “You… do?” He asked, feeling his heart leap up into his throat.

Marinette rolled her eyes, coming back down to a lighter blush. “Oh my gosh, yes, I’m in love with an _idiot_ and he’s _you._ ” Luka had attempted to say something but she cut him off again. “Luka, just… I know you don’t really _get it_ and I know you don’t really say much at all in the first place but please. Just. Shut. Up. I’m going to ask a few questions. Nod or shake your head to answer me, alright?” He reluctantly nodded. “Good. Alright.” She took in a breath and let it out, centering herself. “Alright. Something happened during our fight with Miracle Queen, right?” He nodded. “You found out Chat’s identity, didn’t you?” His eyes opened wide and he nodded. “And you think I’m supposed to end up with Chat Noir?” He nodded. Marinette heaved another sigh. “I get it. Chat’s been my partner since day one. He was in love with me, or so he says, but he didn’t _know_ me. Not like you do.” She took another breath. “Two more questions. Do you love me, Luka?”

He looked at her, and she smiled when she saw the look in his eyes. He nodded an _Yes, absolutely._

“Do you _actually_ want to break up?” He stared at the floor but shook his head _no_. She stepped toward him and reached her hand up to touch his cheek. “I don’t want to either. So we don’t have to.”

“Can I talk?”

“Not if you’re going to say something stupid.” Marinette quipped.

Luka chuckled. “I love you.”

“Definitely not stupid,” Marinette smirked.

“I’m sorry.”

“For suggesting that we break up? Yeah, apologize for that. But I’m not sure I accept it yet.”

Luka laughed. “Fair.”

“So _are_ we broken up now?” Marinette asked. “Because I can’t kiss an ex-boyfriend. That’d be weird.”

Luka shrugged. “I can be your ex-ex. The negatives cancel out, right?”

Marinette rolled her eyes again. “Fine. That works for me.” She pulled him in for a kiss and wrapped her arms around him, holding him in a tight hug. “I just want to be with you.”

He hugged her back. “I guess that’s all that matters.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original prompts:
> 
> 1\. Akumatized Heroes - Akumatized Viperion being taken on by Multimouse  
> 2\. Fluff and cuddles - Perhaps it's due to the animal aspects of the Miraculous or maybe Luka just doesn't like winter, but whenever he's cold, he becomes very needy and wants Marinette's attention and cuddles.  
> ("Mmm...warm.") Marinette ends up giving in every time.  
> 3\. Where Luka/Viperion isn't stung by the wasps in Miracle Queen and helps fight against Chloe. Maybe it's because Marinette is hit instead? Or maybe they escape together and she's forced to reveal she's Ladybug? Maybe he pretends to have been stung in order to get the Snake Miraculous so he can use it against Chloe? I just want Lukanette in Miracle Queen with him being an ally instead of one of the minions.
> 
> I tried to combine some of these throughout the story, how'd I do? 😅


End file.
